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Monday, September 30, 2013

Choose a small item or picture to hide somewhere in the primary room. Have one child stand outside the door (with an adult if necessary) while another child hides the object. Bring the child back into the primary room to look for the object. As he or she searches, the rest of the primary sings the practice song over and over. As he gets closer to the object, the primary sings louder. As he gets further from the object, the primary sings more softly. When the object has been found, choose two new children to participate and play again.

SUGGESTIONS:

When practicing song on subjects such as missionary work, have the children search for this lost sheep. Before you play, you might quickly read the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:1-7. Print the document, cut out the sheep, and laminate it so that it won't become damaged during the game. I keep this lamb in my bag every week and often use it if we have extra time.

When practicing songs about searching the scriptures, you might use this picture. I plan, for example, to use this activity to review the song "Seek the Lord Early" in July of 2014. (For this song, you might also use a picture of Christ, but I like the idea of helping the children understand HOW they seek the Lord."

In November, 2013, the first week, the theme is: "I am thankful for my body, and I know that it is a temple."

I want to teach the kids the first verse of "The Lord Gave Me a Temple." (I included both verses below, BTW). It's not sung often in the church, but I like it and it's simple to learn.

For the Junior Primary, I will simply teach the children the words line by line, using the pictures. You may choose to have the children make up their own movements to reinforce each phrase.

For Senior Primary, I will teach the song using a game. In the document below, there are pages with the words and pages with pictures. Print the document and hang the pages with the words at the front of the room in the correct order. Make sure that they are well adhered to the board so that they don't move. Cut out the pictures and either attach weak double-sided tape or stick tack to the back, or provide the children with a magnet for each picture. Choose a reverent child to see if he can match the pictures to the correct phrases before the pianist plays through the entire song. When the song is over, tell the children how many pictures are in the right place and then take the pictures down again. Let several children try. Once the children are familiar with the melody, see if they can sing through the entire song. If you have time left, continue choosing children to put the pictures in order. Ask them to listen for the phrase that the primary is singing when they finish. See if the children can finish faster and faster.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

From the documents below, print both the turkey and the tail feathers in either black and white or color. If you choose the black and white, you can color/paint the turkey, or use it as a pattern to cut pieces from colored paper or scrapbook paper.

Trim the overlapping edges and assemble the turkey. Cut out the turkey and the tail feathers. Post the turkey on the board at the front of the primary room with the tail feathers attached loosely behind him. On each tail feather, write the name of something that the children might be thankful for, along with the title and page number of a song relating to that theme. My suggestions are at the bottom of the page.

Let the children take turns plucking a tail feather from the turkey. Have the primary sing the song on the back of the feather.

For our readers who do not celebrate Thanksgiving, you can print the document below, cut out the pictures of the gifts, and write the songs on the back of the gifts.

Monday, September 23, 2013

In this post, you'll find links to my Singing Time ideas for October 2013. Feel free to add more ideas in the comments!

I'm not a fan of Halloween themed Sunday activities, even just candy or pumpkins. I don't know of any rules it would violate, but I do think that the children get so focused on the Halloween aspect that they forget about the message entirely. I may, however, try a loose tie-in with Halloween with the dress-up activity, Sister Crazypants.

Ask a missionary from your ward if the ward he or she is serving in would be interested in a letter-swap such as the one we did here in May. Have each child write or draw a picture of his testimony and exchange with a primary in another part of the country or the world. (Our letter-swap is closed. You will have to find your own primary to swap with.)

1. Print several copies of the letter below. Make changes to the document as necessary. (Commenters have pointed out that the use of the title "Elder" may be inappropriate. You may want to change the wording to "member missionary")

2. Fill in the blank where the mission call is listed with places such as:

at school

at the park

at sports practice

at the store

at home

at a family reunion

at a friend's house

in primary

at a restaurant

etc.

3. Place the letters in a large envelope.

4. As you sing the song you wish to review, have the children pass the envelope around the room.

5. When the song is finished, have the child holding the envelope stand up and pull out one of the letters. Have him or her read the area to which he has been "called." Ask him to tell the primary how he can be a missionary in his area.

6. Continue until all the letters have been chosen. Help the children to understand that everything they do is a representation of the Church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You may choose to print a letter for each child in your primary and have him or her fill in a place where he can be a missionary today.

The Word document is linked below. The fonts and formatting may not appear until you actually download the document. Don't forget to make changes as necessary (to the address, signature, etc.).

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

To review the song "The Things I Do," I want to make sure that the children understand the message that they can be missionaries just by choosing the right. To accomplish this, I've put the song into my own words. Begin by reading this (or your own version) to the children.

"I'm not old enough yet to go to another country and serve a full-time mission to teach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. But, right now, I can show people that I have a testimony of the church by behaving the way the Savior would want me to.

People all around me- in my neighborhood, at school, in the park, and everywhere I go- watch how I act all the time, not just at church. If I choose the right, people will think good things about our church. If I make bad choices, people will think bad things about our church.

I can invite my friends to come to church. And if I act with reverence and respect while they're here, my friends will see that church is important to me.

People will see that I don't just talk about keeping the commandments. I live it- because I believe it. Then, later, if they meet the missionaries, they may be curious about the gospel that has the power to mold lives like mine and they will ask the missionaries to teach them."

To prepare for the game, display the pages of the flip chart in the front of the room where the entire primary can see it. Print a copy of the document above and cut the individual lines into word strips. Fold these strips and place them in a bowl.

Sing through the song one time to review. Then have a child choose one of the word strips out of the bowl and read the first part aloud to the rest of the primary. See if the children can guess which lines of the song the word strip is talking about. Attach the word strip to the corresponding picture. Sing through that verse of the song and ask the children to think about the meaning of the words as you do. Continue until all of the word strips have been chosen. (Not every picture has a word strip)

If you have extra time, print the document below and cut out the pieces. Give each child a CTR shield and have him write, in his own words, the message of the song on the back. Encourage the child to hang his shield somewhere where he will see it every morning and remember that he is always representing Christ in everything that he does.

Friday, September 13, 2013

I plan to teach this song to my primary in October 2013 to complement the theme of Missionary Work.

As it is written, the melody from the first verse is repeated for the second verse and then there is a change for the third and fourth verses. Unless you plan to sing this song for the program, consider using the repeated section for all four verses. This simplifies the teaching of the song considerably, and without losing any of the content.

I'm much too young to go abroad

To teach and preach the word of God.

But I can show I know it's true

Quite simply, by the things I do.

The people in my neighborhood

Will judge the gospel, bad or good

By how I act at work and play,

And not just on the Sabbath day.

I'll take my friends to church with me

Where I will act with dignity.

My reverence and my happy face

Will tell them it's a sacred place.

In everything I do, they'll see

I am what I profess to be.

Then when the Elders find their door,

They'll say "Come in and tell us more."

You can review this song and help the children understand it with the activity here.

Please Read

This is not an official web site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Except where noted, the text, artwork and lesson plans shared here are my own and may not meet guidelines set by your local leadership.